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. . . Alamogordo is bland? This from someone who would live in Rio Rancho.
Rio Rancho=white flight suburban sprawl, homogenous cookiecutter houses in endless subdivisions. Not my cup of tea, but I understand some people like that.

LOL...My appologies as i just had to laugh about Alamo being ''FLAT''. Just for those who never been there its right on the side of the Sacramento Mountains which are about 80 miles long and about 45 miles wide. Secondly their average heights are around 9000 ft elevation with Mount Sierra Blanca ar 12,000 ft. Thirdly right across Alamogordo in the Tularosa Basin valley about 50 miles to the west is the Franklins, San Andreas and Oscurro mountains. They go as far south as you can see to as far north the same.

As for ''Bland'' well if you do not like the desert then yeah...but for a desert we have a full rainge desert cactuses Ocotillo, Barrel, Yucca, Prickly Pear etc. and desert shrub like Mesquite, Tarbush, and Creosote that gives of the ''Fresh Rain'' scent. And of course 275 Sq miles of pure white Gypsum Sand Dunes in the valley.

As far as ''Hot'' yeap it does get hot and the summer average highs are (weather channel info) 94 in june and 93 in july.(dry heat) and if that bothers you than you can get up to Cloudcroft in 20 minutes up in the Cool Pines and Lakes and Streams etc.

Is it ''Bare'' ...well its population is around 35,000 to 40,000. It has a rustic feel as it reminds me of another town i've been to and thats Bozeman, Montana. Alamo has about 1 murder every other year and crime is low and people are very friendly and help out their neighbors when in need hence its small town flavor yet close enough to the big city ammenities like Las Cruces or El Paso each around 65 miles distance.When i turn on my car radio i can listen to all the radio stations in El Paso or the local ones in Alamo.

Do i expect everyone to like Alamo...of course not but i had to defend my Hometown for those elsewhere who have never been there before. Gotta chuckle at it being called ''FLAT''.

I have to agree with Escher. Gang problems is hard to escape in any major city or town. I live in Denver and we definitely have gangs too. I am planning to move back to Albuquerque, hopefully this summer. My concern is what type of neighbors, in an apartment complex will I live next to, is my dilemna.

I am from Wi, the northern part. I moved to phoenix almost 4 years ago, and to tell you the truth, phoenix sucks big time, the heat, lack of rain and water, the gangs, car jacking, robberies and on and on. I am going to Farmington NM in april to check it out, i know farmington has so many things to offer us. They have great schools, and cheaper rent on homes and apts. You can get a nice 3 bedroom apt for 450 a month there. The cost of food is way cheaper then wis or az.
I have heard there are meth labs there in Farmington but you have them everywhere, and coming from wis, i can tell you lots of bad things about wis for sure. I don't like the non seasons here and its all brown, i miss the snow and the fall, and in Farmington the snow comes and goes but it doesn't stay like in wis, its green with pine and trees, and it has 4 seasons and water!!!!!!!
any info on Farmington will help me, so please feel free to email me with more info, on renting houses or apts there. I know theres alot of jobs offered there as well. And have a great hosp there, that i need since i have a daughter with cancer.
thanks for all your help and i hope to get feedback and info here
kalli

Kallista, I wish you good luck with your daughter and moving to Farmington. You might look at http://www.obares.com/new+mexico/farmington/apartments/ (broken link)
that list locations of apartments in Farmington. They list phone numbers too so you can call and you may ask them if they know any places, since managers sometimes have insider scoops about places, if theirs are all full.

I started another thread asking about Socorro, NM. This seems like a place to ask again

Anne & I are in our 60's and ready to leave the Northeast. The last few weeks of a relatively mild winter have been really miserably cold. Not cold by previous standards but I cannot take it anymore and Anne is even less accommodating.

We visited the Socorro area (stayed in a lovely B&B called La Casa Blanca in San Antonio – free plug) about three years ago. I really liked Socorro although I did like Silver City more. Anne pointed out that Socorro is much closer to medical facilities and not as cold or high an altitude (she had breathing problems). We are both university graduates and find the academic community to be entertaining at least. I do not want to be anywhere near traffic, crowding or noise. I can no longer tolerate what these do to my PTSD. Hyper alert is OK when you are 30 but dangerous when you are 60+.

I am an environmental scientist and would be interested in teaching science so I would appreciate more information about the New Mexico certification program. I would want a part time job because I would hate to waste a retirement working even though I’ll probably need the money.

We have a fair amount of capital appreciation in our Condo in NH and some savings. How expensive is it to live in central NM? I’m not worried about crime because crooks, drugs and thugs are everywhere. Anne saw a 12 yr old kid selling pot to a 10 yr old outside our kitchen window and the cops could have cared less. Like I said – everywhere.

I suggest that the originators of this thread look at the bigger cities such as Albuquerque (I love spelling Albuquerque), Alamogordo, Las Cruces and Farmington just for the teaching opportunities. Teachers are not paid well anywhere, but NM is worse than most, so two incomes is a good idea.

Greg, it depends where in central NM if it is costly or not. Santa Fe is expensive. Albuquerque isnt very expensive but you said you dont want traffic and crowds and Albuquerque has both. With your degree Id look at Las Cruces. It is further south than you asked but with the university there and it being cheaper to live in plus not as crowded. Socorro I dont know about. Los Alamos has the scientists but it is rather costly to live there. You might also look at Alamogordo, it is another pretty inexpensive place to live and not crowded.

Be sure to stay away from Truth or Consequences though because it is listed with the Justice Department as the most corrupt and worst small town in America to live in. There is 1 criminal for every 1000 persons which is very high. Out of a population of 7500 there is at least three money laundering operations run by organized crime. Dozens of drugs dealers and meth labs. In one year back in the nineties there were 7 murders.
The Klan and the Neo-Nazis have chapters here as well as there being 3 Satanist organizations. The Mexican Mafia has a chapter here. There are four gangs and two terrorist groups operating from the city plus many citizens that support terrorism. There are more people hiding out from the law in any town than there is here. A child molester was once a mayor here and another mayor had a scam going to bilk the city for thousands of dollars (he is currently a city commissioner.) There had been a magistrate judge forced to retire for racketeering some years ago. A chief of police had been a felon and several police officers were selling drugs to teenagers. Although in some neighborhoods you do not have to lock your doors at night the majority of the town is unsafe. There is also a problem with barking dogs to keep you awake at night and the city will do nothing about it. There is no emergency hospital here as when you have to go to the hospital for emergency you may die waiting to be served up to ten hours. They also have some of the worst doctors in the state. Former outlaw bikers became judges here. On the surface it seems like a nice town but underneath lies the very pit of hell. I warn anyone moving here you are coming at your own risk. Las Cruces is a better town as well as Silver City.

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